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IndiaMon, 19 Nov 2018 22:43:22 +0000en-GBhourly1Imran Khan minister slams Trump for saying ‘Pakistan doesn’t do a damn thing for US’http://india.yocahu.com/international/imran-khan-minister-slams-trump-for-saying-pakistan-doesnt-do-a-damn-thing-for-us/
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 22:43:22 +0000http://india.yocahu.com/?p=176551New Delhi: Just a day after Donald Trump claimed that Pakistan “does not do a damn thing” for the US, he was slammed by PakistanMinister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari who reminded the President about the human losses incurred by Islamabad over the years and in turn accused US of carrying out illegal killings in the country.

Mazari tweeted : “The loss of Pakistani lives in the US War on Terror, the free space for (CIA contractor Raymond Davis and other operatives, the illegal killings by drone attacks – the list is endless,” Mazari tweeted.

“Once again history shows appeasement does not work,” Mazari added.

Mazari’s response came after Trump’s statement about Pakistan not doing anything for the US became leading international news.

In an interview to Fox News,Trump referred to Laden and his former compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan and said ,”you know, think of this, living in Pakistan, beautifully in Pakistan in what I guess they considered a nice mansion, I don’t know, I’ve seen nicer. But living in Pakistan right next to the military academy; everybody in Pakistan knew he was there,” he added.

Then he added: “and we give Pakistan USD 1.3 billion a year. … (Laden lived in Pakistan, we’re supporting Pakistan, we’re giving them USD 1.3 billion a year – which we don’t give them anymore, by the way, I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us.”

The compound where Laden was in hiding was demolished shortly after the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group forces, in a daring helicopter raid, killed Laden there in 2011.

The US-Pakistan ties became tense after Trump hit out at the country for providing safe havens to “agents of chaos” that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has “much to lose” by harbouring terrorists. Trump said this while announcing his Afghanistan and South Asia policy in August last year.

Mazari called “Trump’s tirade against Pakistan” a lesson for those Pakistani leaders “who kept appeasing the US especially after 9/11”.

“Whether China or Iran, US policies of containment and isolation do not coincide with Pakistan’s strategic interests,” the Minister said. Mazari accused Trump of suffering “from perpetual historic amnesia”.

Trump’s tirade against Pak & his claim that that Pak does not do “a damn thing” for the US shd be a lesson for those Pak ldrs who kept appeasing the US esp after 9/11! The renditions; the loss of Pak lives in US WoT; the free space for Raymond Davis & other operatives; etc etc

The illegal killings by drone attacks; the list is endless but once again history shows appeasement does not work. Also, whether China or Iran, US policies of containment & isolation do not coincide with Pak strategic interests. https://t.co/tFBe9BentG

Volunteers in white coveralls, hard hats and masks poked through ash and debris Sunday, searching for the remains of victims of the devastating Northern California wildfire before rains forecast this week complicate their efforts.

While the predicted downpours could help tamp down blazes that have killed 76 people so far, they also could wash away telltale fragments of bone, or turn loose, dry ash into a thick paste that would frustrate the search.

A team of 10 volunteers went from burned house to burned house Sunday in the devastated town of Paradise, accompanied by a cadaver dog with a bell on its collar that jingled in the grim landscape.

The members of the team scrutinized the rubble in five-minute sweeps, using sticks to move aside debris and focused on vehicles, bathtubs and what was left of mattresses. When no remains were found, they spray-painted a large, orange “0’‘ near the house.

Up to 400 people were involved in the overall search and recovery effort. Robert Panak, a volunteer on a different team from Napa County, spent the morning searching homes, but didn’t find any remains.

Asked whether the job was tough, the 50-year-old volunteer said, “I just think about the positives, bringing relief to the families, closure.”

He said his approach was to try to picture the house before it burned and think where people might have hidden.

Nearly 1,300 names are on a list of people unaccounted for more than a week after the fire began in Butte County, authorities said late Saturday. They stressed that the long roster does not mean they believe all those on the list are missing.

Sheriff Kory Honea pleaded with evacuees to review the list of those reported as unreachable by family and friends and to call the department if those people are known to be safe.

Deputies have located hundreds of people to date, but the overall number keeps growing because they are adding more names, including those from the chaotic early hours of the disaster, Honea said.

“As much as I wish that we could get through all of this before the rains come, I don’t know if that’s possible,” he said.

Honea said it was within the “realm of possibility” that officials would never know the exact death toll from the blaze.

On Sunday afternoon, more than 50 people gathered at a memorial for the victims at First Christian Church in Chico, where a banner on the altar read, “We will rise from the ashes.”

People hugged and shed tears as Pastor Jesse Kearns recited a prayer for first responders: “We ask for continued strength as they are growing weary right now.”

Hundreds of search and recovery personnel are involved in the effort, going to homes when they receive tips that someone might have died there.

But they are also doing a more comprehensive, “door-to-door” and “car-to-car” search of areas, said Joe Moses, a commander with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, who is helping oversee the search and rescue effort.

The search area is huge, Moses said, with many structures that need to be checked.

The fire also burned many places to the ground, creating a landscape unique to many search-and- rescue personnel, he said.

“Here we’re looking for very small parts and pieces, and so we have to be very diligent and systematic in how we do your searches,” he said Friday.

The remains of five more people were found Saturday, including four in Paradise and one in nearby Concow, bringing the number of dead to 76.

Among them was Lolene Rios, 56, whose son, Jed, tearfully told KXTV in Sacramento that his mother had an “endless amount of love” for him.

President Donald Trump toured the area Saturday, joined by California’s outgoing and incoming governors, both Democrats who have traded sharp barbs with the Republican administration. Trump also visited Southern California, where firefighters were making progress on a wildfire that tore through communities west of Los Angeles from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, killing three people.

“We’ve never seen anything like this in California; we’ve never seen anything like this yet. It’s like total devastation,” Trump said as he stood amid the ruins of Paradise and pledged the full support of the federal government.

Soon after the fire began, Trump blamed state officials for poor forest management and threatened to cut off federal funding.

“There have been some back and forth between California leaders and the president,” Brown said. “But in the face of tragedy, people tend to rise above some of their lesser propensities. So I think we’re on a good path.”

He also suggested California’s severe wildfires will make believers of even the most ardent climate change skecs “in less than five years,” and that those living near forests might need to build underground shelters to protect them from fires.

Rain was forecast for midweek in the Paradise area. The National Weather Service said the area could get 20 mph sustained winds and 40 mph gusts, which could make it hard for crews to keep making progress against the blaze.

Honea expressed hope that Trump’s visit would help with recovery, saying the tour by the Republican president and California’s Democratic leaders “signals a spirit of cooperation here that ultimately benefit this community and get us on a path toward recovery.”

Colombo: Political parties in Sri Lanka agreed on Monday to form a select committee to conduct parliamentary affairs amid a power struggle set off by President Maithripapala Sirisena’s controversial decision to remove prime minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe in October.

Sri Lanka’s Parliament, which was convened on Monday for a third floor test against disputed prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, was adjourned just ten minutes after its opening as the lawmakers could not decide on the members of the committee.

The decision to form the select committee came a day after an all-party meeting called by President Sirisena to resolve the crisis ended inconclusively.

File photo of Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena. AFP

The crisis erupted when President Sirisena suddenly announced on 26 October that he had sacked prime minister Wickremesinghe and installed ex-strongman Rajapaksa in his place.

Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned President Sirisena’s decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls on 5 January.

When the House was convened on Monday, Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri said the party leaders who met earlier in the day resolved that a select committee would be appointed to conduct the parliamentary business.

The leaders from Wickremesinghe’s United National Front, Tamil National Alliance and the JVP or the People’s Liberation Front discussed the proposal by Sirisena made at the all party meeting to have a floor test by name or electronic vote for the third motion of no trust against Rajapaksa.

Mano Ganesan, one of the leaders who attended the meeting, said the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA of Sirisena and Rajapaksa) “flatly refused and backtracked” on the proposal.

During Monday’s session, Dinesh Gunawardena on behalf of the disputed government of Rajapaksa asked the deputy speaker that since they were in the government they should have the majority in the select committee.

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake argued that since the Rajapaksa government had not proved their majority the select committee should have a majority of members from the group that commands majority.

Monday’s session was conducted peacefully. The House was adjourned till 23 November ten minutes after its opening.

Last week Sri Lanka’s parliament witnessed an unprecedented violence.

“On Monday, the public and VIP galleries were shut for diplomats on a request by Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The security was also tightened to prevent any incident,” officials said.

Last week, the apex court issued a temporary order against Sirisena’s sacking of parliament with hearing of the case fixed for early December.

After the temporary order, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya reconvened parliament the sittings of which had been suspended by Sirisena till 14 November.

Jayasuriya’s decision not to recognise Rajapaksa as the prime minister until a floor test is held has angered Sirisena.

Jayasuriya, meanwhile, came down hard on those responsible for violence inside the House on 16 November.

“The Speaker informed the party leaders that he had already called for a report on the ugly and illegal behaviour such as bringing in weapons to the chamber, chilli powder attacks, causing damages to public property, exchange of fisticuffs and other breaches of discipline,” a statement said.

Islamabad, Nov 19: A Hindu woman lawmaker and human rights activist in Pakistan has made it to the list of BBC’s 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.

Krishna Kumari Kohli, 40, Pakistan’s first female senator from the Dalit community, has been placed at No 48 on the annual BBC 100 Women list and recognised as a Pakistani politician.

Krishna Kumari Kohli

Krishna was elected as senator in March after spending many years working for the rights of bonded labourers in Pakistan. She is the first Thari Hindu woman to be elected to the Pakistan senate.

“Krishna was elected to the Pakistan Senate after campaigning for women’s rights, having previously been forced into bonded labour for three years,” BBC wrote about her.

The list includes women like Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton, for her work with the Clinton Foundation to Syrian student Nujeen Mustafa who fled the Syrian war in her wheelchair and campaigns for refugees with disabilities.

Krishna belongs to the Kohli community from the remote village of Dhana Gam in Nagarparkar area of Sindh province where a sizeable number of Hindus live.

She was elected as Senator or member of Upper House of Parliament in March this year from the platform of Pakistan Peoples Party of former premier and slain leader Benazir Bhutto.

Krishna’s endeavours to end bonded labour in Pakistan were fuelled by her own childhood experience of being forced to work with her family by a landlord for three years before being rescued in a police raid.

After they were released from bonded labour, her parents encouraged her to study, supporting her from primary classes to a postgraduate degree in sociology from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro.

After her election to the Senate she promised to continue working for the rights of downtrodden people of her community.

Pakistan’s Hindus, who make up around two per cent of the country’s 200 million people, have long faced economic and social discrimination.

]]>Indian-origin US prof accused of treating Indian students like servantshttp://india.yocahu.com/international/indian-origin-us-prof-accused-of-treating-indian-students-like-servants/
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 20:12:57 +0000http://india.yocahu.com/?p=176543

A prominent Indian-origin professor in the US has been accused of exploiting his students as servants and compelling them to do his personal work, an American daily has claimed.Ashim Mitra, a longtime pharmacy professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, made his students tend his lawn, look after his dog and water the house plants, sometimes for weeks at a time when he and his wife were away, the Kansas City Star reported.

According to the paper, over Mitra’s 24 years as a leader in the UMKC School of Pharmacy, the professor compelled his students to act as his personal servants, a charge dismissed by him.

They hauled equipment and bused tables at his social events, it said quoting nearly a dozen former students of Mitra.

Former Indian student Kamesh Kuchimanchi told the daily that he considered his life at UMKC “nothing more than modern slavery. He alleged that Mitra exploited cultural kinship with students from India. When Kuchimanchi once told Mitra he wouldn’t be a servant, he threatened to kick me out of the university and force me to lose my visa and lose everything. That was his ammo. Either fall in line or you would be thrown out. You didn’t want to be in that situation where you have to go back home empty-handed.” One of his colleagues, Mridul Mukherji, who is also from India, is suing Mitra and university officials. He filed two related lawsuits in Jackson County Circuit Court one in 2016 and one in 2018, the report said.

The lawsuits claim that Mitra mistreated vulnerable foreign students and that the university retaliated against Mukherji when he complained.

According to allegations in pending litigation, the university not only knew about Mitra’s behaviour, but administrators overlooked complaints for years because Mitra was among the most successful faculty members in corralling millions in research dollars for the school.

Court documents obtained by the daily show that after one colleague filed a formal complaint, the university investigated, but the probe involved talking to only one student.

In a statement to the daily through his attorney, Mitra said, Over the years, I have invited graduate students to my home where they have done work related to their courses of study, and at times eaten meals prepared by my wife.

I have not required anyone to perform chores unrelated to their studies.” I do not understand the suggestion that anyone was concerned with their visas being at risk. I have worked with over 60 graduate students attending

UMKC on F1 (study visas, and I am not aware of any of those students having their visa status challenged or revoked, he said.

Another former student told the daily that students feared the repercussions if they refused Mitra.

They were so afraid of not graduating, said the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear that Mitra could undermine her career.

She said students complained to one another privately. Because he had the prestige, he could influence people. He could make things happen. For that reason, they were reluctant to come forward. So were most of Mitra’s pharmacy school colleagues,” she was quoted as saying by the daily.

Soon after returning to power in 2012, Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, boldly asserted that “Japan is back” from its “lost decades” of economic stagnation and political turbulence. Under the Abe administration, Tokyo has ambitions to assume a greater role in global leadership, and policymakers believe that soft power is the key to achieving this.

Japan has long been aware of the potential of its soft power. Especially since Douglas McGray’s 2002 Foreign Policy article on Japan’s Gross National Cool, Tokyo has been trying to convert the global spread of Japanese pop culture into political influence and economic gains.

Influenced in part by Tony Blair’s Labour Party in the UK, Japan introduced “Cool Japan” in 2010, its own version of the “Cool Britannia” campaign. But over the past decade, Cool Japan has been widely criticised at home and abroad for its failure to capitalise on the Japan brand.

At the same time, Tokyo officials are concerned that Japan is losing out to its regional neighbours in the information war. The sudden rise of the Korean Wave – the explosive popularity of Korea’s cultural exports, which been nurtured by the government – is overshadowing Japan’s role as East Asia’s soft power giant. Meanwhile, China is also rapidly expanding its network of Confucius Institutes, educational centres housed within host universities to promote the global spread of Chinese language and culture.

Missing out?

Political scientist, Kent Calder, set other alarm bells ringing in 2014 when he revealed that Beijing and Seoul are more effective at navigating informal networks to bolster their presence in “agenda setting centres” such as Washington DC. Tokyo is concerned that this gives China and Korea the opportunity to create an unfavourable narrative of Japan, particularly regarding territorial and historical disputes.

And so Tokyo has committed to strengthening its public diplomacy efforts. In 2015, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a major $500m cash injection to increase the nation’s influence on the global stage by “strongly communicating Japan’s views”.

At the heart of Japan’s strategy is the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs-directed Japan House. This initiative consists of three cultural centres, in London, Los Angeles and São Paulo – key cities targeted for their global reach or deep historical connections to Japan.

According to the Diplomatic Bluebook – the annual report on Japan’s foreign policy – Tokyo is hoping to “communicate a correct understanding of Japan” and cultivate supporters through sharing the diverse appeals of the country. But while projecting a more assertive approach, the Japan Houses exclusively focus on culture rather than regional disputes to avoid any criticism of them being distributors of propaganda.

So will they have the desired effect? Japan is seeking to win over global audiences through “high-end” public diplomacy. The Japan Houses are shifting away from hackneyed images of traditional Japanese culture and narrow views of Japan as a quirky land of anime, instead targeting an “upmarket” audience of wealthy business executives, city professionals, millennial foodies and highbrow arts enthusiasts. If this section of the public can become fans of Japan, the thinking goes, then they will be sympathetic to Japan in various agenda-setting forums. Tokyo is banking on the sustained cultural and political influence of this socioeconomic class.

The Japan Houses – and their output – have been carefully curated to position Japan as the 21st century’s cultural standard bearer. In London, for example, the chosen location was an Art Deco, grade II-listed building on prestigious Kensington High Street, located near the city’s V&A and Design museums. The events and exhibitions staged within focus on highlighting Japan’s long history of regionally rooted craftsmanship and refined design sensibilities. The prices in the aesthetically pleasing museum shop and rarefied restaurant arguably make them inaccessible to many onlookers.

But Tokyo’s targeted attempt to broadcast the “correct” vision of Japan to a defined, high-end audience is at odds with key trends within public diplomacy and cultural institution management.

Inclusive or exclusive?

First, there has been a major shift from old to new public diplomacy. If the old was characterised by the top-down, unidirectional transmission of ideas from diplomatic ivory towers, the new values a dynamic, accessible approach that appeals to multiple stakeholders and encourages them to take part in the co-creation of a shared narrative. The rise of non-state actors in international affairs and the digital revolution has meant that it is much harder for governments to neatly control their message. Dialogue has become the name of the game, and the discussion should involve the many, not just the few.

Diversity and inclusion have also become central to UK arts and cultural institutions. Aiming to become accessible to diverse audiences, leading cultural institutions are rethinking their locations, staff, menus, prices and core offerings. Cultural centres are becoming platforms to empower, and collaborate with, local community partners.

If the 20th century was a race for the top, the public diplomacy winners in the 21st century will be those who can master networking from the centre. The Japan House initiative must focus less on communicating Japan’s cultural leadership credentials to an exclusive audience and do more to empower and appeal to diverse stakeholders. If it doesn’t, the project risks becoming an anachronistic appeal to yesteryear.

Warren Stanislaus, PhD Candidate in History, University of Oxford.This article first appeared on The Conversation.

British Prime Minister Theresa May continued to defy her critics as she reached out to businesses, with an attempt to focus on her vision for the post-Brexit immigration regime. EU nationals, regardless of skill level, could no longer “jump the queue ahead of… software developers from Delhi”, she said.

The end to free movement is an aspect of the withdrawal deal that Ms. May has sought to focus on as she has stood firm against critics across the political spectrum after reaching an agreement with EU leaders that sparked several ministerial resignations and has led to members of her party submitting letters of no-confidence in her.

While immigration concerns were seen as one of the catalysts of the Brexit vote, industry has voiced its concerns, particularly about the ability for it to access the skills base it needed.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI, while welcoming the progress that had been made in the deal overall cautioned about the government’s vision for post-Brexit immigration policy, warning that a policy focused only on highly-skilled workers would lead to a skills shortage. “What has been proposed so far won’t work; the idea that anyone earning less than £30,000 can’t contribute to our economy, for instance.”

“The government may be listening to business when it comes to immigration, but they still aren’t hearing. A false choice between high and low-skilled workers would deny businesses, from house builders to healthcare providers, the vital skills they need to succeed.”

Her concerns were echoed by Surinder Arora, an Indian-origin businessman who founded the Arora Group of hotels, who raised concerns about the ability of businesses such as his to access the skills base he needed. The situation had been “tough” for business since the referendum, he said. He urged the Prime Minister not to forget all businesses, including the tourism and travel industry, during a question and answer session at the conference.

However, Ms. May insisted her strategy of focussing on enabling access for highly-skilled workers was the strategy recommended by the independent Migration Advisory Committee. She suggested it was a time for business to step its work too, including by helping to develop the skills base in the U.K.

“At a time when many are questioning whether free markets and an open trading economy can work for everyone in society… all of you must play your part too, by stepping up to demonstrate that you truly have a stake in the success of this country.”

The issue of non-EU versus EU immigration has been a controversial one throughout the Brexit referendum and after. In October, the government announced that Indian citizens and other non-EU citizens will have the same immigration rights as EU citizens in the U.K., under a system that will give priority to high-skilled workers no matter where they come from.

However, the new system will introduce even further restrictions on the ability of Indian workers and their families to come to the U.K., requiring any family to be sponsored by the employer.

Ms. May has fought back firmly against the opposition to her withdrawal agreement from within her party, bolstered by support from industry, and some significant voices in her own party. Earlier in the day, Cabinet member Michael Gove, who has remained within the Cabinet, said the Prime Minister had his “full support”.

Media reports had suggested that Mr. Gove and several other Cabinet members had remained there to attempt to revise the deal, though Ms. May has insisted that there is limited room for manoeuvre.

A summit is still set to take place this weekend in Brussels for European leaders to formalise the deal that has the official backing of the British cabinet. EU lead negotiator Michel Barnier appealed for calm on Monday to ensure that Britain could lead the EU in “an orderly manner”.

While business is critical of the government’s post-Brexit immigration policy, they have welcomed some of the clarity, including on arrangement for the smooth flow of goods between the U.K. and the E.U., an aspect that Ms. May also focussed on in her attempt to reach beyond parliamentarians and sell the deal to business leaders and the public.

Pointing to automakers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and others that relied on “just in time supply chains” and supported tens of thousands of jobs directly and indirectly in the country, she said the proposed deal would “work for all of them and sustain the livelihoods they provide to working people across the country”.

The auto industry has been cautious in its response to the withdrawal agreement, saying it was a positive step to avert the “devastating consequences” of a no-deal Brexit. “For the automotive industry, Brexit is about damage limitation,” said the industry body SMMT last week.

“Truly frictionless trade is the only way to ensure the industry’s future success and this should be the objective of all parties as we move into negotiating the permanent U.K.-EU relationship.”

]]>Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested over ‘financial misconduct’, company to fire the auto titanhttp://india.yocahu.com/international/nissan-chairman-carlos-ghosn-arrested-over-financial-misconduct-company-to-fire-the-auto-titan/
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 16:50:37 +0000http://india.yocahu.com/?p=176537New Delhi: Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, one of the world’s best-known businessmen, was reportedly under arrest in Tokyo on Monday. Sending shockwaves through the auto industry, the arrest came in the wake of an investigation that found the auto titan of using the company’s assets for personal use. Nissan accused its chairman of “significant acts of misconduct”. The company said it had been investigating him for several months after receiving a whistleblower report and would now move to fire him. Meanwhile, Ghosn has not yet commented on the allegations.

As per the report by AFP, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets said Ghosn had been arrested after being questioned by Japanese prosecutors for various improprieties including underreporting his income.

What Nissan claims?

In a statement, Nissan said it had launched an investigation into both Ghosn and Representative Director Greg Kelly several months ago, which showed that over many years bothof them have been reporting compensation amounts in the Tokyo Stock Exchange securities report that were less than the actual amount, in order to reduce the disclosed amount of Carlos Ghosn’s compensation. “Also, in regards to Ghosn, numerous other significant acts of misconduct have been uncovered, such as personal use of company assets, and Kelly’s deep involvement has also been confirmed,” the company said, reported AFP.

The Kyodo news agency said Ghosn was suspected of understating his income by 5 billion yen, or around USD 44 million, over five years from 2011. It also reported that Kelly had been arrested.

Who is Carlos Ghosn?

• Nicknamed as Le Cost Killer Carlos, Ghosn is known as one of the world’s best-known businessmen, was born in 1954 in Brazil.
• The 64-year-old businessman is known for overhauling Renault and Nissan starting in the nineties.
• In 2016, Ghosn took charge at troubled Mitsubishi after Nissan threw it a lifeline.
• He is credited with saving Nissan from bankruptcy through a series of hardnosed measures including closing plants and restructuring
• He has instant name recognition in Japan, where he is a rare, high profile foreign executive.
• Ghosn has been regarded as the glue holding together the sprawling alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi.

The Maldives’ new government will pull out of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China because it was a mistake for the tiny nation to strike such a pact with the world’s second biggest economy, the head of the largest party in the ruling alliance said.

It is the latest sign of a backlash against China in the Maldives, best-known for its luxury resorts on palm-fringed coral islands.

“The trade imbalance between China and the Maldives is so huge that nobody would think of an FTA between such parties,” said Mohamed Nasheed, the chief of the Maldivian Democratic Party, which leads the ruling federal alliance. “China is not buying anything from us. It is a one-way treaty.”

On Saturday, as he took office, the new President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih declared the state coffers have been “looted” and warned that the country was in financial difficulty after racking up debt with Chinese lenders.

Former President Abdullah Yameen, who lost the election in September, signed the FTA during a visit to Beijing in December, and the same month his parliament ratified the treaty despite opposition protests that he had rushed through the 1,000-page document in less than an hour without any debate.

Nasheed, a former president and now an advisor to Solih, said parliament would not pass the law changes required for the zero tariffs agreement to come into force.

“It was ratified by parliament, but fortunately it calls for different sets of legislation. We are not going to have this further legislation. We can’t go with that,” Nasheed told Reuters in an interview in the capital Male.

China’s embassy in Male did not respond to a request for a comment on the trade pact.

But China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Culture and Tourism Minister Luo Shugang, President Xi Jinping’s special envoy to the inauguration, told Solih that China paid great attention to developing relations with the Maldives.

The Maldives is among a number of small countries where China has invested billions of dollars building highways and housing as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Through that initiative, Beijing hopes to improve trade and investment flows with much of Asia and parts of the rest of the world.

China was willing to work with the Maldives to consolidate their traditional friendship, plan their practical cooperation and promote Belt and Road to inject “new impetus” into their future relationship, the foreign ministry cited Luo as saying during Sunday’s meeting with Maldivian president.

The statement cited Solih as expressing appreciation for China’s long-term support of the Maldives and that he was willing to further deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road framework.

STRIKING DEALS

Critics in the Maldives say a China-led infrastructure boom has left the tiny country of a little more than 400,000 people debt-ridden, and a free trade pact would only make the situation worse given the lopsided nature of the relationship.

Between January to August this year, the Maldives’ imports from China were $342 million, while its exports to China were just $265,270, according to Maldives customs data. The island nation bought meat, agricultural produce, flowers, plants, electronics and toys from China among many other items.

It imported $194 million worth of goods from India, its traditional partner, during the same period, while exporting $1.8 million of products including scrap metal such as copper, aluminium and steel.

The Yameen administration said at the time that the FTA with China would help diversify the $3.9 billion economy and boost fisheries exports from the Maldives, crucial since the European Union declined in 2014 to renew a tax concession on them.

The two countries would open up services such as finance, healthcare and tourism, China said at the time. The Maldives has no free trade pacts with any other country.

If the Maldives turns away, it would be the latest setback for China, which is facing opposition for its projects in countries stretching from Malaysia to Nepal, and even from its all-weather ally Pakistan.

A proposed free trade agreement has been held up in Sri Lanka over Colombo’s demand that it have the option to leave after 10 years.

A member of Solih’s transition team also said the administration was thinking of cancelling the pact.

“It makes no business sense,” the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. “This is not something we are going to pursue, we expect the cabinet to meet and take a formal decision on this.”

The new administration plans an audit of the deals signed by the Yameen administration, but it said it had no plans to suspend or cancel any of the projects, such as airport expansion and housing contracts, given to Chinese firms.

Landslides due to rains from a tropical storm have killed 13 people and left four others missing in south-central Vietnam.

A disaster official in Khanh Hoa province says some 600 soldiers have been mobilised to search for the missing and evacuate people from high-risk areas.

He said the landslides from heavy rains triggered by Tropical Storm Toraji collapsed several houses and buried the victims in some villages in the resort city of Nha Trang on Sunday.

The storm weakened to a tropical depression at sea off the south central coastal province of Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan on Sunday night, the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority said in a statement Monday.

Vietnam is prone to floods and storms which kill hundreds of people each year.

If it weren’t for the loud Pacific Island shirts and the rugby league posts dotted around town, you could be forgiven for thinking that China was hosting this year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.Giant billboards of a beaming Xi Jinping were erected around Port Moresby and, for his state visit, red Chinese flags fluttered the length of a new (China-funded) road inaugurated by the president himself.

That was not the only sign of Chinese largesse. He also opened a China-funded school and journalists (including a massive press corps from Beijing) were ferried around on buses provided by China Aid.

With the American and Russian presidents deciding to skip the summit, Xi was the star of the show, receiving a warmer reception from business leaders for his speech calling for free trade than Vice-President Mike Pence did for his combative remarks.

Vice-President Mike Pence during an event on the creation of a US Space Force at the Pentagon. AP

Cruising for a bruising

With the high-profile absentees and the summit dogged by unbridgeable differences over trade, the real fireworks at this year’s APEC took place — probably uniquely — on a cruise ship.On the Pacific Explorer moored in Port Moresby’s harbour, Xi and Pence provided a veritable sea battle, delivering duelling speeches that were effectively a scrap over who dominates the region.

The ship, along with two other gleaming white behemoths also provided unusual summit accommodation for officials and journalists, with the full range of cruise ship facilities available, from blackjack tables to live band entertainment.

I don’t eat kangaroo

While the formal part of the summit may have failed to generate much excitement, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte can usually be relied on for some unconventional comments.Duterte was a notable absentee from a gala dinner that saw leaders in red and yellow shiny shirts treated to traditional tribal Papua New Guinea entertainment.

A Philippine official told AFP that Duterte finds such “formalities” a “slight waste of time”. The absence came after he took a “power nap” during a summit earlier in the week in Singapore.Maybe he was worried what he would be served to eat. He turned down an invitation from Australia for an informal breakfast in Singapore, asking: “What will they feed us there, kangaroo?”

False flag

An embarrassing slip-up at a signing ceremony was narrowly avoided when an eagle-eyed official noticed that the Papua New Guinea flag was upside down.

Flying a national flag upside down is a widely recognised sign of distress and would have been unfortunate symbolism in a ceremony about improving the lot of a poverty-stricken country where only 13 percent of people have electricity.

Bring a guidebook

As host of the APEC summit for the first time, Papua New Guinea took every opportunity to educate its guests on the culture and history of their hugely diverse country. “Papua New Guinea has more than 800 languages” was an oft-repeated refrain, and indeed one in 10 of the world’s languages can be found there.

The country’s most widely spoken language is pidgin English or Tok Pisin, a deeply expressive tongue with influences from languages as distant as Taiwanese and Zulu — a language that dominates the southeastern corner of Africa.

It can result in confusion for the first-time visitor though. For example, ‘lukim yu bihan’ may sound similar to the English “look you behind”, but is not an instruction to turn around, rather a way of saying ‘goodbye’.

It’s been a long time since we heard about the super fast ‘Supersonic’ planes which travel at an unimaginable speed. Though these planes have been in existence, they were never been used for commercial purposes and were just restricted to scientific purposes.

With an aim to reduce the travel time for the passengers, Lockheed Martin has begun building a ‘son of Concorde’ plane that could herald the return of supersonic passenger travel.

Officially known as the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology aircraft, it is being built with NASA to perfect quiet sonic booms that would allow the craft to go supersonic over land.

Measuring 94 feet in length and 30 feet in width, this Supersonic plane would weigh around 14,650 kgs and makes lesser sound than the normal planes. The Supersonic planes would be a reality by 2021.

We lost people, homes and money in your war, and still provide you with communication lines — have any other allies made such sacrfices? Look in the mirror before blaming us.

That’s the gist of Imran Khan’s response to Donald Trump’s claim that Pakistan doesn’t “do a damn thing” for the US. The American president also accused Islamabad of helping Osama bin Laden hide in Pakistan. All this, just months after his administration cut $300 million in aid to Pakistan in September — part of a suspension in security assistance announced earlier this year.

Imran Khan, who became Pakistan’s prime minister this year, said on Twitter that the record needed to be set straight. He proceeded to write a list.

“No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but, Pakistan decided to participate in the US’s War on Terror,” he said. “Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war and over $123 billion was lost to the economy. US “aid” was a miniscule $20 billion,” was point number two.

Three and four: “Our tribal areas were devastated and millions of people uprooted from their homes. The war drastically impacted the lives of ordinary Pakistanis.”

“Pakistan continues to provide free lines of ground and air communications (GLOCs/ALOCs. Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?”

And then, the call for introspection.

“Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 1,40,000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops and reportedly $1 trillion spent on the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before,” he concluded.

Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before.

For years, Washington has criticised Pakistan’s tolerance of Taliban militants who launch attacks in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Experts on the conflict in Afghanistan, which began in 2001, say Pakistani safe havens “have allowed Taliban-linked insurgents in Afghanistan a place to plot deadly strikes and regroup after ground offensives,” Reuters reports.

The second phase of training programme of 10 Afghan diplomats in Beijing began on Monday as part of the joint project by India and China. In the 1st phase the Afghan diplomats were trained at the Foreign Service Institute in Delhi from 15th to 26th October.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Chief of Mission of Indian embassy in Bejing Dr Acquino Vimal said,” India is firmly committed in Afghanistan’s efforts to emerge as a united, peaceful, secure, stable, inclusive and economically vibrant nation. India and Afghanistan are close neighbours as well as strategic and development partners.”

He added that all the efforts of India as the development partner of Afghanistan has been based on the “priorities set by Government and the people of Afghanistan and this has been our fundamental basis for any development partnership.”

Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Beijing Mardan Ali Qasemi & Hou Yanqi ,DDG, Department of Asian Affairs, MFA of China were also present during the occasion. Through its scholarship and training programme India trains 3500 Afghan diplomats every year.

In last 17 years, India has committed a grant of US$3 billion for the development of Afghanistan. Since 2017, the next generation of new development partnership has been launched with the Government of Afghanistan through high impact community development projects in all the provinces of Afghanistan.

The Indian Deputy Chief of Mission said, “We are hopeful that in the months to come we will be able to identify more specific projects which can be jointly done by Government of India and Government of China for the benefit of Afghanistan as desired by the government and people of Afghanistan.”

India has also been developing number of infrastructure projects in Afghanistan with the Afghan Parliament in Kabul and India Afghan Friendship dam in Herat being constructed with New Delhi’s help. Indian PM Modi has visited Afghanistan 2 times since taking over in 2014.

The joint training of diplomats was one of the major outcome of Wuhan infomral summit between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year. Since then PM Modi and Chinese President have met on the sidelines of BRICS and SCO Summit. They will be meeting again on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Argentina. This will be the 4th meeting between the 2 leaders this year.

]]>Watch: Divers found this mysterious 26-foot-long sea ‘creature’ off the coast of New Zealandhttp://india.yocahu.com/international/watch-divers-found-this-mysterious-26-foot-long-sea-creature-off-the-coast-of-new-zealand/
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 13:03:15 +0000http://india.yocahu.com/?p=176520

Two divers who were underwater off the coast of New Zealand found themselves face to face with a rare and mysterious sea creature.

Steve Hathaway and Andrew Buttle were in the waters near White Island in October when they discovered what appeared to be a 26-foot-long gelatinous worm. It turned out to be made up of hundreds of thousands of smaller organisms. They managed to capture the creature on camera as it moved slowly through the water, changing into different shapes and sizes.

The creature was identified as a pyrosome – a colony of tiny sea animals that come together to form a free-floating mass. According to the Washington Post, they were dubbed “bizarre unicorns of the sea” by scientists because of their bioluminescent glow and mysterious characteristics.

“I’ve always wanted to see one,” Hathaway told the Post. “I was beyond excited. This is like finding something that you’ve dreamed of for so many years.” Even though pyrosomes are not very rare, they are spotted only by people who spend a lot of time underwater.

A city in China’s far-western Xinjiang region has ordered people who are “poisoned by extremism, terrorism and separatism”, in contact with overseas terror groups or act in a conservative Islamic manner, to turn themselves in to authorities.

Those who surrender to judicial organs within 30 days and confess to their crimes will be treated leniently and might avoid punishment, said a notice posted on Sunday on the official social media account of the Hami city government.

Beijing has in recent months faced an outcry from activists, academics and foreign governments over mass detentions and strict surveillance of the Muslim Uighur minority and other ethnic groups that live in Xinjiang.

China rejects the criticism, saying that it protects the religion and culture of minorities in the region and that its security measures are needed to combat the influence of ”extremist” groups that incite violence there.

“All individuals involved in terrorist crimes and poisoned by the ‘three evil forces’ are urged to surrender themselves to the judicial organs within 30 days and to confess and hand over the facts of your crime,” said the Hami city notice.

The notice issued by the municipal “leading small group for stability maintenance” says that actions ranging from being in contact with overseas “terror” groups to conservative Islamic behaviour should prompt individuals to turn themselves in.

Advocating that people live their entire lives in accordance with the Koran, stopping other people from watching television, or banning alcohol, smoking and dancing at weddings are listed as behaviours that should warrant informing the authorities.

The list also included openly destroying, rejecting or thwarting the government identification system, as well as rejecting government provided housing, subsidies and cigarettes or booze as being “haram” or forbidden.

Those who turn themselves in on time will be treated leniently, and if the information provides a significant clue, then they might avoid all punishment, the notice said.

In August, a United Nations human rights panel said it had received many credible reports that a million or more Uighurs and other minorities are being held in what resembles a massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy in Xinjiang.

China says it is not enforcing arbitrary detention and political re-education.

Aside from the mass detentions, rights groups also say that the Chinese government has significantly raised limitations on everyday religious observances in the region.

Last month, the region’s capital Urumqi launched a campaign targeting halal products, like food and toothpaste, which are produced according to Islamic law, in order to prevent what it sees as the incursion of Islam into secular life.

]]>Pakistan PM Imran Khan compares himself with Hitler, Napoleonhttp://india.yocahu.com/international/pakistan-pm-imran-khan-compares-himself-with-hitler-napoleon/
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 09:56:06 +0000http://india.yocahu.com/?p=176516New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan compared himself with Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte to establish that he is smarter than the Nazi and the Fascist leader, after facing criticism from the opposition for taking U-turn on several issues. Khan said that the two leaders lost battles because they were rigid and did not take U-turns.

While talking to journalists who met him in the Prime Minister Office, Khan said that the leader who does not do timely U-turns is not a real leader.

A real should change his or her strategy according to the situation and the need of the hour.

He was talking to journalists who met him in the Prime Minister Office (PMO. “The leader who does not do timely U-turns is not a real leader,” The Dawn quoted him citing a participant.

He gave the example of the ‘failure of German leader Adolf Hitler and French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte in the wars in Russia’ and said: “Both Hitler and Napoleon faced defeat as they did not change their strategies according to the situation and (as a result their armies were marooned in Russia,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Khan has recently been attacked by critics for backtracking from most of pre-election political positions and promises he made to the country.

Khan’s statement provided fodder for critics who then trolled Khan over his choice of comparison. Taking a jibe at Khan, former foreign minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif tweeted: “Are you planning on invading Russia that you are recalling Hitler and Napoleon? Do not look for justifications in the pages of history for your hypocrisy and opportunistic behavior.”

Doing a U-turn to reach one’s objective is the hallmark of great leadership just as lying to save ill-gotten wealth is the hallmark of crooks.

British prime minister Theresa May will on Monday defend her draft Brexit deal to business leaders ahead of “intense negotiations” with Brussels in the coming week.

May will tell the Confederation of British Industry, the UK’s main business lobby group, that she is confident of striking a deal at the European Council in the run-up to Sunday’s summit to sign Britain’s divorce papers.

“During that time I expect us to hammer out the full and final details of the framework that will underpin our future relationship,” she will say, according to Downing Street.

“I am confident that we can strike a deal at the Council that I can take back to the House of Commons.”

The embattled premier, whose cabinet grudgingly approved her EU divorce draft last week, faces an uphill challenge to pass her deal through a scecal parliament.

The Brussels negotiations will finalise a parallel political declaration setting out a road-map for post-Brexit negotiations on future EU-UK ties.

She will also tell the CBI gathering that her deal will deliver on the issues that matter to the British people.

“Control over our borders, by bringing an end to free movement, once and for all.

“Control of our money, so we can decide for ourselves how to spend it.

“Control of our laws, by ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the United Kingdom and ensuring that our laws are made and enforced here in this country.”

The CBI said on Sunday that May’s draft deal was not perfect but a compromise that “takes no deal off the table” and opens the path to frictionless trade in the future.

Addressing the issue of immigration, a concern for many businesses who fear they will face skills gaps after Brexit, May will promise to introduce “more streamlined application processes” that will “attract the brightest and the best from around the world”.

“But the difference will be this: once we have left the EU, we will be fully in control of who comes here,” she will say.

“It will no longer be the case that EU nationals, regardless of the skills or experience they have to offer, can jump the queue ahead of engineers from Sydney or software developers from Delhi.”

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would take on the defence minister portfolio, rejecting calls to dissolve his government even as early elections appeared increasingly likely.

Netanyahu said heading to elections now, amid repeated violent confrontations with Gaza militants, was “irresponsible” of his coalition partners, who have been pushing for early polls since the resignation last week of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman over a Gaza cease-fire.

File image of Benjamin Netanyahu. AP

“Today, I take on for the first time the position of defence minister,” said Netanyahu, speaking from Israel’s defence headquarters in Tel Aviv in a statement broadcast live at the top of the evening newscasts. “We are in one of the most complex security situations and during a period like this, you don’t topple a government. During a period like this you don’t go to elections,” he said.

The sudden coalition crisis was sparked by the resignation of the hawkish Lieberman, who had demanded a far stronger response last week to the most massive wave of rocket attacks on Israel since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. He alleges the cease-fire agreement reached with Gaza’s Hamas rulers will put southern Israel under a growing threat from the group, similar to that posed to northern Israel by Lebanon’s heavily armed Hezbollah group.

The departure of Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party leaves the coalition with a one-seat majority in the 120-member parliament. Netanyahu’s other partners say that makes governing untenable and would leave the coalition susceptible to the extortion of any single lawmaker until elections scheduled for November 2019.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, has already threatened to bring down the government if he is not appointed defence minister. He and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, also of Jewish Home, are set to deliver a statement to the media on Monday. If the party leaves the coalition, it would strip Netanyahu of his parliamentary majority.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, another senior partner, says another year of such instability will harm the economy. A meeting between him and Netanyahu Sunday meant to convince Kahlon to stay ended with no results. Netanyahu’s Likud allies are already preparing to pin the blame on coalition partners if the effort to salvage the government fails.

“I think that there is no reason to shorten the term of a national government, not even for one day, and at this moment it’s in the hands of the education minister and the finance minister,” said Gilad Erdan, the minister of public security. No Israeli government has served out its full term since 1988. Since then, elections have almost always been moved up because of a coalition crisis or a strategic move by the prime minister to maximize his chances of re-election.

Though Netanyahu has been reportedly flirting with the idea of moving up elections himself in recent months, the current timing is not ideal for him. He has come under heavy criticism for agreeing to the Gaza cease-fire, especially from within his own political base and in the working-class, rocket-battered towns in southern Israel that are typically strongholds of his Likud Party.

But with Lieberman forcing his hand and the other coalition partners appearing eager to head to the polls he may not have a choice. Most opinion polls show Netanyahu easily securing re-election, which would secure him a place in Israeli history as the country’s longest-serving leader. But several factors could trip him up, including a potential corruption indictment that could knock him out of contention.

Police have recommended he be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges in two cases and have questioned him at length on another. The country has long been eagerly awaiting the attorney general’s decision on whether to press charges. Netanyahu has angrily dismissed the accusations against him, characterizing them as part of a media-driven witch-hunt that is obsessed with removing him from office.

On Sunday, US president Donald Trump defended his administration’s decision to cut to Pakistan saying that it didn’t do ‘a damn thing for us’ despite receiving billions of dollars from America.

Early this year, the US suspended nearly $2 billion in military aid to Pakistan for not taking decision action against terrorists operating from its soil.

The president said, “We were giving them $1.3 billion a year – which we don’t give them anymore, by the way, I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us.”

He added, “You know, living – think of this – living in Pakistan, beautifully in Pakistan in what I guess they considered a nice mansion, I don’t know, I’ve seen nicer. But living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew he was there.”

Cummings came to know that Newsum’s caretaker had gone home that morning (November 15 and he picked her to reach her to safety, KCCI, an NBC News affiliate, reported.

Newsum herself also deserved an applause as the nonagenarian, despite recovering from a broken back she had from a fall eight months ago, was determined to catch some attention so that she could reach to safety.

“I am positive, and I knew I was going to get out of there,” Newsum told TODAY. “I didn’t know how, and here I got an angel driving this great big, green monster,” she said thanking Cummings.

Newsum, who doesn’t have any family in the area, is currently staying with Cummings’ childhood friend Brian Harrison, who is a mechanic at North Valley Waste Management – where Cummings is also employed.

Magalia is a suburb of Paradise, a town in California, which was completely destroyed in the flames.

Amid strained relations with India, Maldives saw a change of guard after massive movement in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation. With 54-year-old Ibrahim Solih taking over as the seventh President of the nation, India finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the swearing-in ceremony of Solih, who defeated strongman Abdulla Yameen in September. The first oath taking ceremony that Modi has attended and the only South Asian neighbour that the Indian premier had not visited so far due to the political upheaval in that country.

Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi in an exclusive conversation with India Today said that Maldivians were very “excited” to see Prime Minister Modi attend the event and that Maldives will always follow an ‘India First’ policy.

“With regard to our relations with India, I’m sure we have always had good relations with India even under the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP government earlier, which was very short lived in 2008-2012. We hope that ‘India First’ policy that we had will continue”, she said.

Paving the way for a new beginning, Modi was seated beside former Maldivian presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom during the ceremony. Former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga also attended the ceremony.

According to a joint press statement after talks between Prime Minister Modi and President Solih in Male on Saturday, the two leaders expressed confidence in the “renewal” of the close bonds of cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

“During their meeting, both leaders agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean and being mindful of each other’s concerns and aspirations for the stability of the region.”

One of the major concerns for India was the fact that the previous Yameen regime was our neighbours or even otherwise. We were very surprised when President Yameen announced that he was returning India’s gifts to us. I have been told by the MNDF that they can be put these helicopters to use, that they can be used for medical evacuation and other services. I’m sure we will be putting it to good use in the future”, she said.

The two leaders also discussed the “dire” “economic situation” in Maldives and ways to further economic partnership. President Solih highlighted the need for increased housing and infrastructure development as well as for establishing water and sewerage systems in the outlying islands. Prime Minister Modi assured “firm” commitment in assisting Maldives to achieve “sustainable social and economic development”.

“The two leaders discussed ways in which India can continue development partnership, particularly to help the new government in meeting its pledges to the people of the Maldives”, said the joint statement.

Prime Minister Modi, “conveyed India’s readiness to extend help in every possible way and suggested that both sides should meet at the earliest to work out details as per requirements of the Maldives.”

Prime Minister Modi also welcomed the expanding “opportunities” for Indian companies to invest in the Maldives in different sectors for the mutual benefit of both countries.

One sector that took a major hit because of the tensions between New Delhi and the Yameen administration was the tourism and hospitality sector. Many Indians lost employment and were asked to return or their visas were not renewed as a result of souring ties with India.

The Defence Minister assured India Today that such “discrimination” will end.

“We will not discriminate on employment on the grounds of nationality. Indians have been working in the Maldivian tourism industry for a very long time and if there is a shortage of labour, we will welcome Indians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, everyone alike”, said minister Mariyam Didi.

Both sides also agreed on the need for facilitating easier visa procedures, according to the joint statement.

Prime minister Modi extended an invitation to President Solih to make a state visit to India at his earliest convenience. President Solih accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Meanwhile, the Maldivian Foreign Minister will visit India on the 26th of November to hold further discussions and to prepare for the forthcoming state visit of President Solih to India.

President Solih expressed the hope that Prime Minister Modi will make an official visit to the Maldives in the near future. Prime Minister Modi gratefully accepted the invitation.

This was Modi’s first visit to the Maldives as Prime Minister. The last visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Indian Ocean island nation was by Manmohan Singh in 2011.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday toppling her would risk delaying Brexit and she would not let talk of a leadership challenge distract her from a critical week of negotiations with Brussels.

In the days since she unveiled a draft EU divorce deal, May’s premiership has been thrust into crisis. Several ministers, including her Brexit minister, have resigned and some of her lawmakers are seeking to oust her.More than two years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU, it is still unclear how, on what terms or even if it will leave as planned on March 29, 2019.

May has vowed to fight on, but with both pro-EU and pro-Brexit lawmakers unhappy with the draft agreement, it is not clear she will be able to win the backing of parliament for it, raising the risk Britain leaves the EU without a deal. “These next seven days are going to be critical, they are about the future of this country,” May told Sky News. “I am not going to be distracted from the important job.”

“A change of leadership at this point isn’t going to make the negotiations any easier … what it will do is mean that there is a risk that actually we delay the negotiations and that is a risk that Brexit gets delayed or frustrated.”To trigger a confidence vote, 48 of her Conservative lawmakers must submit a letter to the chairman of the party’s so-called 1922 committee, Graham Brady.

More than 20 lawmakers have said publicly that they have done so, but others are thought to have submitted letters confidentially. Brady told BBC Radio on Sunday the 48 threshold had not yet been reached. Brady said he thought it was likely May would win any confidence vote, making her immune to another challenge for 12 months under the party’s rules. Mark Francois, one lawmaker who has submitted a letter, said he expected some colleagues were taking soundings from local party members over the weekend before making a decision.

FUTURE RELATIONSHIP

At the centre of concerns over the deal is the Northern Irish backstop, an insurance policy to avoid a return to border checks between the British province and EU-member Ireland.Critics say it would leave Britain bound to the EU in perpetuity and risks dividing the United Kingdom by aligning Northern Ireland more closely with the EU’s customs rules and production standards than mainland Britain.

The DUP, a small Northern Irish party which props up May’s minority government, has threatened to pull its support if the backstop means the province is treated differently from the rest of the United Kingdom.DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said on Sunday it was “time to work for a better deal which does not undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom”. May said negotiations were continuing and she intended to go to Brussels and meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. She said she would also be speaking to other EU leaders ahead of an EU summit to discuss the deal on Nov. 25.

“We won’t agree the leaving part, the withdrawal agreement, until we have got what we want in the future relationship because these two go together. The focus this week will be on the future relationship,” she told Sky. “It is the future relationship that delivers on the Brexit vote.”Former foreign minister Boris Johnson, who resigned in July over May’s Brexit plans, said it was “either a tragic illusion or an attempt at deceon” to think issues with the exit deal could be remedied in the next stage of talks.

“I have heard it said that this is like a football match, in which we are one-nil down at half-time, but … we can still pull it back and get the Brexit we want,” Johnson wrote in his weekly column for Monday’s Daily Telegraph.”We are about to give the EU the right to veto our departure from the customs union. Why should they let us go?”British newspapers reported that five senior pro-Brexit ministers were working to pressure May to change the deal, but May said she saw no alternative plan on the table.

Former Brexit minister Dominic Raab, who resigned on Thursday in protest at the deal, said he supported May as leader but her deal was “fatally flawed” and she must change course.”I still think a deal could be done,” Raab told the BBC. “The biggest risk of no deal is taking a bad deal to the House of Commons … it is very important to take the action now.”

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party would vote against May’s deal and the government should go back to Brussels for further negotiations. He said that was a priority ahead of pushing for a second referendum on the final agreement.”It’s an oon for the future, but it’s not an oon for today, because if we had a referendum tomorrow, what’s it going to be on? What’s the question going to be?” Corbyn told Sky News.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday defended last week’s Brexit draft agreement with the European Union and said the coming week would be critical for the United Kingdom’s future, the BBC reported.

Ahead of a summit on November 25, May suggested that agreeing more details of the country’s future ties with the European Union could satisfy concerns of her Conservative Party MPs who are opposed to the plan. To the ministers calling for a change of leadership, she said, “It is not going to make the negotiations any easier and it won’t change the parliamentary arithmetic.”

“This isn’t about party politics, this is about what matters for this country, it is about what is in the national interest, that’s what I’m determined to deliver,” she said on Twitter. “A deal that’s good for the people of this country.”

‘The 48 letter limit has not been reached’ says Theresa May, meaning there are not enough no-confidence letters to trigger a Tory leadership contest #Ridge

This isn’t about party politics, this is about what matters for this country, it is about what is in the national interest, that’s what I’m determined to deliver. A deal that’s good for the people of this country. pic.twitter.com/340DUycv91

The UK is due to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019. After months of negotiations, UK and EU officials agreed on the draft text of a Brexit agreement last week. While the details of the agreement have not been made public, some information was later leaked to the media.

Although May has the support of her Cabinet, voices of dissent have grown in the last week. Four British government ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, resigned after the draft agreement was signed. Raab said the UK was being bullied by the European Union.

May said discussions were continuing to include more details into the future deal proposals, saying it was this part that “delivers on the Brexit vote”. She will also meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels, Belgium, ahead of the summit.

Meanwhile, European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier met diplomats from the 27 remaining member-states and has proposed December 31, 2022, as the deadline for any possible extension to the transition period.